


A Material World

by CrabOfDoom



Category: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy XV
Genre: EpisodeIgnis, Fluff, How to Human, M/M, Valentine's Day, World of Ruin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 05:52:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13630005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrabOfDoom/pseuds/CrabOfDoom
Summary: Safay has a long-term lover, yet no concept of a lovers' holiday. Prompto is aghast.





	A Material World

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote two thousand words, based off of a pin I found on a sheet of children's Valentines. Aw yiss.  
> (borrows backstory from 'Summer' and 'Something Borrowed'.)

"What are you looking for?"

The street stalls and small shops tucked into Lestallum's alley walls tended to be modest on aesthetics, but the goods they sold were of excellent quality to make up for that fact. The stretch of open market that Safay presently found himself in, as he trailed no more than a step or two behind the King of Lucis' rather bouncy blond friend, really put that assumption of quality to the test. Most of the items for sale that weren't edible appeared to have been scavenged, with only a half-hearted pass at cleaning. Then again, the same could be said for at least some of the food.

"Valentine's stuff," Prompto replied. He hadn't picked up anything since they'd turned into this alleyway. Safay supposed that was just common sense, but it also seemed to imply that he hadn't found anything that he sought out.

"And what's that look like?" Safay asked. His eyes caught on a piece of Galdin beach glass, thoroughly cracked from within and that glittered in the strings of electric lights, but stopped himself just before he'd have picked it up.

Ahead of him, Prompto stopped his own search for a beat or two, before he turned to face the much taller soldier.

"How long have you and Ravus been together?" the blond asked in return.

Safay had take a moment to think. "Almost... fourteen years, I think?"

"Incredible," Prompto said, although his tone expressed no small irony. "In all that time, he's never once given you a Valentine's gift?"

"... Should he have?"

"Yes, he should have!" Prompto said, outraged on the soldier's behalf. "Valentine's Day is for letting the people you love know that you love them!"

"Oh," Safay said. "Well, that makes sense, then. Ravus tells me he loves me, all the time."

"No, it doesn't make sense! It's still a day to--wait, he does?" Prompto had to lightly bite his lips to keep from smiling at the sheer potential at hand for collecting dirt on the First King of Tenebrae. "Does he ever give you flowers?"

"No," Safay admitted, "but I've asked him not to give me things that I can't carry. A long time ago."

"What? Why?"

"Everything I owned in the Keep was probably thrown out as trash, after Ardyn tried to kill me," Safay told him. "After being away from it for this long, I don't think I could bring myself to go back again, even if it were still there. It wasn't much, but if there was something Ravus had given me? I'd never be over pining for it."

"Oh. Yeah, that does seem more practical," Prompto admitted. "You could've kept it all at Ravus' place, though."

Safay shrugged. "Yeah, probably. But I didn't. If I had, it still would've been in Tenebrae, and I still would've spent a whole year in Meldacio without anything tangible to remember him by. Still would've had to assume that it would all be as disposable as Ardyn made me believe _I_ was to him."

"Ouch," Prompto uttered quietly. "So, you're kinda soured on the whole love-token concept, huh?"

"I don't know about soured," Safay said, "so much as just over it. I can't say if having a ring or locket would've given me hope or only made that year worse. But I have Ravus again, every night. A million times over, I'd rather have that than any little charm or jewel."

"Well, of course," Prompto agreed. "And I'd rather have the guys than a card with a bad pun, but there's still value in the gesture. Just to say 'I love you guys, and I've been looking forward to this day for months just so I can make extra certain that you know it'."

Safay looked at the blond in thought for a moment, before he glanced again to the random wares on the market tables.

"And what among this jumble would say that?" he questioned.

"You never know," Prompto said. "Just gotta keep in mind what would make 'em smile, you know? Like, I'm hoping to find some trashy romance book for Gladio, maybe some cool, old lighter Iggy can use to get a pilot light or the camp stove started; stuff like that."

"Things they can keep on them," Safay concluded.

"More or less, yeah," Prompto nodded, as he picked up a small, junky old camera for a closer look, out of habit. "Lets 'em know you pay attention, too. And, let's be honest: Noct was-- _is_ the one who gives them the high-class new shoes, or watches, or that kinda thing, 'cause he's got the money to. I'm not hurting, but I can't compete on that level. Looking for inexpensive vintage stuff and the occasional just-a-gag gift, though, I could do all day. Plus, they'll always know it came from me. Who else is gonna give Iggy a chocobo-shaped kitchen timer? Nobody but me, that's who."

Safay found a small smile, and looked back to the tables' array of small clutter.

"So," Prompto drawled out, as he stepped close enough to have literally looked over the soldier's shoulder, if he'd had the height to do so, "what could you give grumpy ol' Ravus, that he'd look at and immediately think 'goddamn it, this can only be Safay's doing'?"

Safay fought back a chuckle, just before his eyes honed in on something that fit that description rather well.

"That," Safay determined, and lifted his gaze to the merchant manning the particular stretch of the market stall. "I want that."

Prompto's brows rose as the merchant picked out the soldier's target.

"You're... gonna give _that_ as a gift?" Prompto asked with some hesitation.

"Yes?" Safay replied. "What's wrong with it?"

"Well, it's just..." Prompto began, and rubbed the back his neck awkwardly. "There's cheap, and then there's _cheap_ , y'know?"

"I'm in no position to be buying high-class shoes or watches, either," Safay pointed out. "And you just said a trashy romance novel was good enough for Gladio."

"Yeah, but that's Gladio," Prompto defended. In the back of his mind, he was thankful that Gladiolus wasn't there to hear it, however. "He likes that sort of thing. Ravus is a _king_ , dude."

"Yeah?"

"And is this the first thing you're ever gonna give him?"

"Hardly," Safay said. "The first thing I ever gave Ravus was an orgasm."

Prompto held his hands over his face. It failed to conceal his blush entirely.

"That was just before I'd first given him a kiss, even."

" _WHOA_ ," Prompto interrupted. "Okay, this is way more dirt than I was prepared for."

"Dirt?"

"Safay, that thing is like a quarter-gil from a vending machine."

"Can you point out which one?"

"What?"

"Which machine? And I have maybe three quarter-gil; is it gonna give me this one, before I run out?"

Prompto blinked.

"This one's right here," Safay continued. "And didn't you say it's all about what would make him smile?"

The blond heaved a sigh. "I absolutely did. You're right. And you know Ravus way better than I do. Go for it."

He could swear there was a giddy sparkle in the soldier's eyes, as Safay made his rather minuscule purchase. It grew Prompto's dread of the gift being poorly received all the more.

"Hey," Prompto spoke up, as Safay stashed his prize into a pocket. "Do me one little favor, though."

"Such as?"

"Buy him a bottle of good booze, too. Just to hedge your bets."

\---------------

"What the... Are you _spying_ on someone?"

" _Shhh!_ " Prompto ordered. "A little, okay?! Keep quiet, or they might hear you!"

Gladiolus looked over the top of the dwarf potted palm that Prompto peered through, but couldn't determine the blond's targets.

"Fine, but who, and why are you spying on them?"

"Well, just Safay right now," Prompto whispered. "Ravus walked away a couple minutes ago, but he could be back any moment."

"I'm waiting on the 'why'," Gladiolus said.

"Ugh," Prompto sighed. "Safay didn't know about Valentine's presents, because Ravus is a grumpy dick who's never given him one, so I told Safay about it the other day when he went with me to the marketplace, and I tried to tell him how to pick out something special, but he found this damned button--like a royal's gonna care about some little plastic, mass-produced, gumball-machine _button_ \--and I just couldn't get him to understand that, and he was just so happy with himself over finding it, and _gods_ , I want it to work for him so bad, but the waiting is killing me, and I don't even know what I'll do, if it doesn't."

Gladiolus looked down at the blond and blinked. "You know Ravus isn't going to just embarrass Safay over this, right? I'm sure the guy would at least avoid doing anything that might ruin his guarantee of getting laid on Valentine's Day."

"I've thought more than enough about Ravus getting laid in the past few days, thanks."

"It's gonna be a blast, listening to you explain all of this, once your nerves calm down."

" _He's coming back!_ " Prompto announced, in his conspiratorial hush.

Unconcerned about being spotted by a pair that weren't paying attention to anyone but each other, Gladiolus glanced over to where Ravus and Safay had reunited, and presently sat on the edge of the fountain near the Leville. The two were usually soft-spoken with one another, as it was; to eavesdrop was a lost cause from this distance.

Safay soon reached into his pocket. Prompto quietly squeaked amid the palm's fronds as nerves kept the soldier from opening his hand, and Ravus had to manually assist. The Tenebraean's curiosity melted into a soft amusement, when he finally got a look at his small gift, before it became a truly warm smile that neither Lucian would have believed he had in him.

"What? _What??_ " Prompto struggled to keep himself quiet, as Ravus immediately invited his partner to add the small pin to the left lapel of his high-collared gray trenchcoat. The quick task completed, Ravus leaned in to kiss his soldier's lips. And to slip something into the palm of Safay's now-empty hand.

Safay looked to the sudden object, to the still-smiling King of Tenebrae, and back. Prompto hadn't known the soldier's eyes could be so wide, as Safay held up a large, smooth pebble of icy-blue beach glass, to see the electric streetlights through it. Safay turned it back and forth, to see the light through all of the pebble's cracks, and a fine silver chain fell from Safay's palm as Ravus briefly took it back. The king gently fit the loop over his partner's head, pulled Safay's long braid through, and settled the glass gem against the soldier's chest. Ravus spoke to him all the while, but Safay cut him off by throwing his arms behind Ravus' neck. A gesture that the royal readily returned.

Gladiolus spared them a soft smile, before he turned and casually kicked the toe of his boot against the side of Prompto's. "You can breathe now, secret agent."

"Ow," Prompto complained, more out of reflex than any real discomfort. "Come on, dude. It's the first present he's ever given his boyfriend, and I wanted it to be a good thing for him, okay?"

"They were already a couple," Gladio pondered, "so if you're not exactly a matchmaker, what's that make you? A cupid?"

"Well, my aim _is_ true," Prompto supposed. "And who else do you think has his eyes everywhere, and could clue in a king on how a six-gil glass necklace would blow his long-neglected Valentine's mind?"

"Any chance of seeing you, wearing nothing but an over-the-shoulder modesty sash?"

"I think a bedsheet could make that happen later," Prompto said. "Try to remember that we have to go and get Iggy, for dinner, first."

"Yeah, yeah," Gladiolus smirked. "Just as soon as those two are done being kissy and gross."

"Says the guy who reads romance novels."

A minute more, and the pair at the fountain rose to their feet. Despite the distance, the natural glass cabochon laid against Safay's skin like an obscenely expensive pale blue jewel. And really, who was going to suggest to him that it wasn't?

As Safay and the King of Tenebrae neared, Gladiolus could clearly see a small black pin on Ravus' lapel. Round, no more than an inch in diameter. A skull and crossbones, with a tiny red heart just beneath.

"It's definitely you," Gladiolus complimented through a grin.

\---------------


End file.
